


Baby Love

by Pegasus_Eridana



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kid!Castiel, M/M, Teens, kid!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 04:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1844158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus_Eridana/pseuds/Pegasus_Eridana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Castiel have been best friends for most of their lives. But what will happen when other feelings come into the mix? <br/>Hint: FLUFF, FLUFF SO MUCH FLUFF SERIOUSLY WE ALL MAY DROWN IN IT.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CruelBeauty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CruelBeauty/gifts).



> So this was a prompt from CruelBeauty for high school Destiel where everyone except them can see that they're not just friends. I hope this is OK!
> 
> I have discovered that I love writing child!Dean with the power of a thousand cute fluffy suns. 
> 
> Edited, as ever, by Ismene_Jane, who remains in her position as THE BEST. 
> 
> Enjoy, and make sure to equip yourselves with tea and chocolate and whatever else you might need to keep yourselves afloat in this sea of fluff.

They first met in Kindergarten. Four-year-old Dean Winchester, bestest big brother _ever_ and future Batman, rescued a little boy with a shock of black hair and the _hugest_ blue eyes Dean had ever seen (bigger even than baby Sammy’s) from Ruby and Meg Masters, who had cornered him and were trying to tug something out of his grasp. Dean could see the boy was valiantly trying to fight them off, but he was outnumbered. Boldly, just like Batman would, Dean had waded into the fray and pulled the girls off the other boy.

“Leave him ‘lone!” Dean ordered, doing his best grown-up growly voice. “He don’t want stoopid girls like you takin’ his stuff an’ givin’ him cooties!”

After a couple of judicious tugs to their pigtails, Dean had the girls running, and he turned back to the victim, who was looking at Dean with worshipful eyes and clutching a large stuffed bumblebee to his chest.

“S’alright now,” said Dean. “They ain’t gonna getcha, not while I’m here, and I’ll protect you.”

“Th-thank you,” said the other boy quietly.

“I’m Dean Winchester,” Dean announced, thumping his chest proudly and sticking out a pudgy hand. The other boy reached out gingerly to shake it, one arm remaining tightly wrapped around his toy. “What’s your name?”

“Cas – Cas-tee-el” said the other boy. Dean screwed up his face.

“Cassee – Casty – that’s a really cool name, but it’s hard t’say, so I’m just gonna call you Cas, OK?”

Cas nodded, and then seemed to come to some sort of decision. He thrust his toy towards Dean.

“An’ this, this is Honey,” he said. “Meg an’ Ruby, they said cuddly toys were for babies, an’, an’ that if I had one I was still a baby,” Cas continued, bright blue eyes shining with tears.

Dean felt the same urge to protect that he always felt around Sammy, and without hesitation he flung an arm around Cas’ shoulder.

“Nah, they’re _stoopid_ ,” said Dean dismissively. “Anyways, bees are _awesome_!”

“You r-really think so?” asked Cas, bottom lip still trembling slightly.

“’A-course,” said Dean. He squeezed Cas’ shoulders, and thought hard about what else he could say to make his new friend feel better. Then he remembered that whenever he or Sammy or sometimes even his Mommy was sad, his Daddy would call them special names to make them happy again and let them know how much he loved them. Dean knew _exactly_ what to say.

“It’s all fine, you’ll be fine, babe. Now, let’s go play Batman. You can be Robin, an’, an’ Honey can be our special guard-bee, ‘kay?”

***

Dean honked the horn of the Impala, as he did every morning, to let Cas know he was there.

“Right, Squirt, time to get outta the front seat and into the back where you belong,” said Dean, smirking at Sammy. His little brother pouted , but complied.

“Don’t see why Cas always gets to ride in the front with you,” he muttered as he slid into the back of the car. “Just ‘cause he’s your _boyfriend_ …”

“ _Best_ friend, not _boy_ friend,” Dean corrected automatically. Seriously, what was it with people and saying or assuming that he and Cas were boyfriends? They’d been best friends for twelve years; obviously they were close, obviously they knew each other better than anyone else did, obviously Cas was a large part of Dean discovering his bisexuality a year ago, _obviously_ Cas featured more than anyone else in Dean’s late-night fantasies and was the main reason why Dean didn’t really date, but that didn’t mean…

OK, fine. _Maybe_ Dean’s feelings for Cas weren’t _entirely_ platonic, but dammit if Dean was going to act on those feelings and ruin the best friendship anyone could ever ask for.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by a car door slamming, and he looked across to see his best friend grinning at him.

“Hey, babe,” Dean said, grinning back.

“Good morning, love,” replied Castiel, as he did every morning.

Alright, so the pet name thing _might_ be misleading. It had just stuck from that first day in Kindergarten, OK? It didn’t _mean_ anything.

***

That morning was much like any other. Dean and Cas took all the same classes and always sat and worked together. Teachers had long ago accepted that splitting the two boys up would be far more trouble than it was worth.

At lunchtime, they sat outside with their friends Charlie, Jo, Ash and Benny. Castiel gave Dean his apple juice, as he always did, and Dean gave Cas the honey sandwich that he always brought specially from home.

Talk turned to what they would do that weekend and Dean listened with half an ear, mostly concentrated on the length of Cas’ side pressed up against him on the bench.

Someone, (Jo, probably) suggested that they go to see the new Iron Man movie, but almost before she could finish the sentence, Dean was shaking his head.

“Cas ‘n’ me went to see it a couple of days ago.”

“Star Trek marathon?” suggested Charlie.

“Dean made me do that last weekend,” said Castiel.

“Hack into the Pentagon defence system.” Ash proposed. He was ignored.

 “Go on a hike?” asked Benny. Dean huffed.

“Benny, you _know_ Cas sprained his ankle on Monday; he shouldn't be doing that much walking on it for _at least_ four more days, and anyway, the other day he said he wanted to visit the History museum….what?”

All their friends were looking at Dean with similar expressions of fond exasperation on their faces.

“When exactly are you two gonna admit you’re a couple, already?” Charlie said, as the others nodded. Dean choked on his apple juice and Cas thumped his back then stroked it soothingly.

That probably didn’t help with the whole we-are-strictly-friends thing.

“Dean and I are happy as we are,” Castiel said calmly. Dean felt a slight pang at that, but put on a brave face and nodded his agreement.

“Come off it, you’re basically dating already,” put in Jo.

“Who stood by Cas when he came out to his family?” Benny asked.

“And who _finally_ managed to persuade Dean that his parents wouldn’t mind that he was bi if he would only man up and tell them?” Jo supplemented.

“C’mon guys, you’re more in love than Captain America and Bucky! Than Harry and Draco! Than Kirk and Spock!” Charlie said, coming dangerously close to fangirl-flailing.

“You’re never apart, and you’re always touching.” Jo stated. “Seriously, you always have your arms around each other and when you don’t you’re as close as possible. Even right now, you’re squeezed up against each other even though there’s no-one else sitting on your bench.”

“Even I can tell, and I barely pay attention to other humans,” Ash added.

“Brotha, at least _think_ about it,” finished Benny. Dean glared at them all, but just then the bell rang and he was able to ignore everyone and head inside, ploughing ahead and leaving Castiel behind.

***

After an afternoon of sitting in classes with the words of his friends ringing in his ears, Dean was incredibly thankful when his last period finally finished and he was able to head out to the parking lot.

He’d not taken more than a few steps, however, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Of course it was Cas.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean said weakly. Castiel merely stared back at him for a minute before he spoke.

“Did it really bother you that much?”

“Did what bother me? I’m fine, ba – dude,” replied Dean, deciding that playing dumb was the way to go.

It didn’t work.

Castiel frowned. “You know what I mean, Dean. What our friends said at lunch. Does – does the idea of being with me really `freak you out?`” (Dean could practically _hear_ the air-quotes and smiled fondly before remembering that it was a serious conversation which could well end in losing his best friend.) “So much that you can barely even _look_ at me for the rest of the day? Even now, you made a conscious effort to call me a name which implies that we’re `bros` instead of something else.”

Dean took a deep breath and shut his eyes, mentally preparing himself. He opened them and looked his best friend straight in the eye.

“Yeah, it freaks me out,” he said. He could see Cas deflate, saw the flash of disappointment on his face, but was too geared up to wait and ponder what that might mean. “It bothers me because I want that so much with you, Cas, and I – I’m scared that it will ruin us, and I can’t lose you babe, I just can’t.”

Dean shut his eyes again once he stopped talking, giving Cas a chance to walk away with the smallest amount of awkwardness possible.

So he was a little surprised when he felt arms around him and a soft, chaste kiss that tasted too much like honey to be anyone other than his best friend, was laid on his lips. He opened his eyes and stared straight into the blue ones that were so close to his face right now, and brimming with happiness.

“You’re an idiot, love.” Cas said, before kissing him again. This time Dean was slightly more prepared for it, and he opened his mouth readily as soon as Cas’ tongue showed interest in entering it. Blissfully, he swallowed the small grunts and moans coming from Cas, and put his hands firmly on the other boy’s hips, pulling them as close as he could.

They only broke apart when they heard whooping and catcalls behind them. Jo, Charlie, Sam, Ash and Benny were all standing there, huge smiles on their faces. Dean flipped them the bird, swung them round so his back was to their friends, and kissed Cas some more.

He only stopped when Benny threatened to go and find a hose to spray them with if they carried on.

Dean and Cas separated, but only as far as lips were concerned. Dean slid an arm around Cas’ waist and pulled him close, nuzzling into his soft hair to drop a kiss there.

“I am afraid,” began Castiel, his tone laced with happiness, “that Dean and I will need to bow out of whatever you decided on doing this weekend. We shall be entirely taken up with making out, and then Dean is going to take me to the History museum just like he promised, but now we’ll be able to make out some more there, too.”

Dean couldn’t have held back the beam pasted across his face for anything. He squeezed Castiel closer and kissed him again.

“It’s a date, babe,” he said.

***

**Twelve years later**

Emma sat on the floor, stuffed bumblebee, as it always was, in her lap. She stared at her Daddy with wide eyes.

“You and Poppa’ve known each other _all your lives?_ ” she asked.

“Pretty much,” laughed Dean. “In fact, we were almost exactly your age. It was the first day of Kindergarten.” Emma’s huge blue eyes, so like her father’s, grew impossibly wider and rounder.

“B-but _I’m_ gonna be in Kindergarten tomorrow!” she almost shrieked. Dean swept her up into his arms and cuddled her close before tucking her into bed.

“Yes you are, snuggle-bug,” he said teasingly, poking her in the stomach. She squealed and giggled and then, worn out by a long day preparing for her start at school, she wriggled further into the covers and settled down. Dean kissed her tenderly, stroking a tendril of hair from her soft pink cheek, before creeping out of the room and closing the door quietly.

He walked into the nursery, where his husband was putting their youngest down into the crib. Jimmy, at eighteen months, was a sweet baby, much more placid than his sister had been at the same age. He gave a little snort as he was laid down, then lay still.

Castiel smiled at Dean, who wound his arm round Cas’ waist as they left the room.

“I just can’t believe Emma’s starting Kindergarten tomorrow,” said Cas, a trace of wistfulness on his face. “She’s the same age that we were when we met,”

“Yeah,” said Dean, flopping down onto the couch and remembering that long-ago day when he ended up saving a strange little boy and getting so much more than he could ever have hoped for. “Difference is, though, she’s not gonna be dating _anyone_ ‘til she’s _at least_ thirty.”

Cas grinned and nudged his husband gently, before curling up on the sofa with him and lacing their fingers together.

They stayed there quietly for a bit, content just to be together, before they were disturbed by the patter of small feet coming down the stairs and into the living room.

“Emma? Are you alright, baby?” Cas asked, sitting up and reaching to her. She climbed up into Cas’ arms, and Dean cuddled them both close. She stayed quiet for a few moments, gathering her thoughts (she was like Cas that way) before speaking.

“So…do I hafta get married tomorrow?”

“ _What?!”_ Dean spluttered. “Bug, no! Why would you think that? You don’t have to get married, like, _ever_ , I mean, that would be fine by me-”

“Emma,” interrupted Cas, giving Dean a look, “why do you think you have to marry someone tomorrow?”

Emma looked at her parents in confusion.

“Well Poppa, you an’ Daddy fell ‘n love ‘n’ got married when you was in Kindergarten,” she said reasonably. Dean stifled a laugh.

“Honey, no, we were just friends for a long time before we were anything else,” Cas said gently. Emma frowned.

“Well, what changed?” she asked. Girl _had_ to go and inherit Cas’ brains and blunt way of asking tricky questions. Cas shot a tender smile at Dean.

“Well, it took some time,” he said, shifting Emma so she was more comfortable in her fathers’ arms. “Here’s how it happened…”

He talked gently until Emma was asleep, at which point they carried her back upstairs to her own bed. After tucking her in, they retired to their room. Cas, as he always did, snuggled close to Dean on their bed, forcing him to lift up his arm and bring it around Cas’ shoulders.

And, as he always did, Cas asked a question.

“Are you happy, my love?”

And Dean, as he always did, answered,

“More than I ever believed possible, babe.”

And sealed it with a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr name is heckamightygadzooks, and please feel free to come and hang out there, or give me prompts for more fluffy one-shots, whatever you like!
> 
> Also comments and feedback give me life.


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